This application requests partial funding for a summer Research Conference entitled "BIOLOGICAL STRUCTURE AND GENE EXPRESSION" to be sponsored by the Gordon Research Conferences. The conference will take place on August 15-20, 1999 at Kimball Union, New Hampshire, USA. This will be the sixth international meeting devoted specifically to the subject of cell structure and gene expression. The aim of the conference is to bring together a group of international experts to discuss the roles of various cellular structures in regulating gene expression associated with growth, differentiation and apoptosis during development and neoplasia. The conference will be limited to 120 conferees including speakers with broad backgrounds in the areas of cell, molecular, clinical and engineering (cell and tissue) sciences. Conferees will be chosen on the basis of their expertise, interests and our desire to adequately represent women and minorities at this conference. There will be nine major scientific sessions, each with 3-4 invited talks of ca. 30 mins (20 + 10 discussion), followed by a 40 min period where selected abstracts and/or late breaking data will be presented by junior investigators, giving them the opportunity to present their exciting new data. At the end of each session, there will be a general discussion to integrate the information. Posters will be displayed for the duration of the meeting allowing junior participants who were not fortunate to be selected for a talk to present and discuss their data with experts in the field. The specific topics include: 1) Two keynote addresses discussing the role of structure in cell function, 2) Integrins and signaling, 3) Small GTPases, cytoskeleton and signal transduction, 4) Cytoskeleton and mRNA localization within the cell, 5) Chromatin organization and function, 6) Nuclear matrix: Structural considerations in the regulation of gene expression, 6) Cell structure and the response to stress, 8) Adhesion-mediated signaling and cancer, 9) Intercellular contact in cell growth and embryonic development. The topics of controversy, uncertainty and agreement within each of these areas will be defined and discussed during the ample discussion periods. The conference will provide a unique opportunity for interaction between scientists from different backgrounds who have overlapping interests, and it will stimulate collaborative research efforts among participants, as well as help to identify and set future goals for research in the area of cell structure and gene expression.